The Heat Of The Moment Tour Featuring Rock Legends Asia, Focus, Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash, Curved Air and MC’d by Artist Roger Dean – Summer 2024

Asia is absolutely delighted to announce The Heat of The Moment Tour, headlined by Asia and also featuring Focus, Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash and Curved Air and MC’d by artist Roger Dean.

The tour will commence on 3rd July 2024 and will incorporate 21 dates across the USA and Canada.

The tour has been masterminded by rock music keyboard legend and original Asia member, Geoff Downes (Buggles, Asia, Yes).

Asia was the biggest selling album of 1982, number 1 on Billboard for 9 weeks and pioneers of the MTV era! Downes’ brand new iteration of Asia first began to evolve last Summer, at the concert held in memory of late lead singer, songwriter and bassist, John Wetton (King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, UK, Asia, John Wetton Band, Icon). Downes invited old friend John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Lonely Robot, Kino, John Wetton Band, Icon) and new-comer Harry Whitley to join him on stage to celebrate Wetton’s life by performing some of the classic Asia hits. Such was the uproarious reception to their set, that Downes wondered if something magical was beginning to take shape.

“And so it was that the John Wetton tribute last August really reminded me how much Asia’s music belongs on the stage. The response to it all was literally…spine-tingling.”

Downes’ new-look Asia will once again feature Mitchell on guitars and Whitley on lead vocal and bass. The quartet will be made complete by the addition of Virgil Donati (UK, Southern Sons, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth) on drums.

Downes continues, “With the addition of Virgil Donati & John Mitchell, two of the finest musicians in the world in their respective classes, this is almost going full circle bearing in mind their previous close collaborations with John W. Completing this circle is also the amazing Harry Whitley who absolutely floored the audience with his incredible vocal interpretation of the Asia songs that John W and I so lovingly wrote over the years.”

The tour will also feature sets from other classic acts, Focus, Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash and Curved Air. All three support acts boast their founder bandleaders and have deservedly attained the status of legend.

Focus will be releasing a brand-new studio album later in 2024. Led by the indomitable Sir Thijs van Leer, featuring original 1970’s drummer Pierre Van Der Linden, plus the virtuoso talents of Menno Gootjes on guitar and Udo Pannekeet on bass.

Martin Turner was lead vocalist, bassist, founding member and creative force behind 70’s rock music behemoth Wishbone Ash, best known for such classic albums as Argus and Pilgrimage.

Formed in 1970, Curved Air are one of the founders of progressive rock and a retrospective collection of their most influential and ground-breaking material is currently in the planning stages. Sonja Kristina (vocals) and Kirby Gregory (guitar) will treat audiences to an acoustic set featuring some of the band’s most memorable musical moments. They will be joined by violinist Grzegorz Gadziomski.

Each performance on the tour will be MC’d by legendary artist Roger Dean. For so many, Dean’s artwork is synonymous with the music of the time and stands to represent the very best of British rock music.

The final word goes to Geoff Downes, “I am convinced that John (Wetton’s) spirit is with us as we set out on this new adventure. After all, it is the Year of the Dragon – just as it was in 1982, when we released our first Asia album. It’s as though it was meant to be. Looking forward to seeing you there, my friends – bring it on!”

Heat Of The Moment 2024 Tour Dates:

Wednesday, July 3: Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
Thursday, July 4: Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls, ON
Saturday, July 6: Chevalier Theatre, Medford, MA
Sunday, July 7: The Paramount, Huntingdon, NY
Tuesday, July 9: Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ
Wednesday, July 10: Count Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ
Friday, July 12: Tropicana Showroom, Atlantic City, NJ
Saturday, July 13: Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA
Sunday, July 14: American Music Theatre, Lancaster, PA
Tuesday, July 16: Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, Spartanburg, SC
Wednesday, July 17: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Thursday, July 18: Columbia County Performing Arts Center, Evans, GA
Saturday, July 20: Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
Sunday, July 21: Pompano Beach Amphitheater, Pompano Beach, FL
Monday, July 22: Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa, FL
Wednesday, July 24: North Charleston PAC, North Charleston, SC
Thursday, July 25: Macon City Auditorium, Macon, GA
Friday, July 26: Saenger Theatre, Mobile, AL
Sunday, July 28: VBC Mark Smith Concert Hall, Huntsville, AL
Tuesday, July 30: The Arcada Theatre, St Charles, IL
Wednesday, July 31: The Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI

ASIA
Geoffrey Downes – Keyboards, Vocals
John Mitchell – Guitars, Vocals
Harry Whitley – Bass Guitar, Lead Vocal
Virgil Donati – Drums

Home

FOCUS
Thijs van Leer – Hammond Organ, Flute, Vocals
Menno Gootjes – Guitars
Udo Pannekeet – Bass Guitar
Pierre van der Linden – Drums

https://focustheband.co.uk/

MARTIN TURNER ex Wishbone Ash
Martin Turner – Bass guitar, Vocals
Danny Willson – Guitars, Vocals
Misha Nikolic – Guitars, Vocals
Sonny Flint – Drums

https://www.martinturnermusic.com/

CURVED AIR
Sonja Kristina – Vocals
Kirby Gregory – Guitars
Grzegorz Gadziomski – Violin

https://www.curvedair.com/

Check out the press info and videos for SUNBOMB’s Light Up The Sky. This is the band featuring Stryper’s singer Michael Sweet and guitarist Tracii Guns. I got the band’s first album from a couple of years back, and liked it, so am looking forward to hearing this one. Guns released another album not too long ago with original Great White singer Jack Russell. (I dig the partnership between Guns & Sweet, but not so sure on the name(?); why bother – just call it SWEET & GUNS …kinda like SWEET & LYNCH!)

SUNBOMB — featuring Tracii Guns & Michael Sweet — Announces Sophomore Album ‘Light Up the Sky’, due out June 24th on Frontiers Records Srl. Pre-Order HERE

SUNBOMB, the musical alliance between two steadfast warriors of the U.S. hard rock/metal scene: Tracii Guns and Michael Sweet, have announced the release of their sophomore album out June 24th via Frontiers Records Srl. Developed as a tribute to the classic heavy metal of the 80s, SUNBOMB melds influences of classic metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, and Judas Priest.   Like it’s 2021 predecessor, ‘Evil and Divine,’ the music here is once again very heavy and firmly planted in the ‘metal’ category, with a wink to a traditional approach to the genre. While Tracii wrote the music for the album, the fact that Michael Sweet has been writing in an increasingly heavier style on latter-era Stryper albums made him a perfect vocalist for the album.   Tracii first leaked the news of the SUNBOMB project in a March 2019 tweet, where he described the band’s approaching debut LP as “the Metal record I would have made when I was 17 years old.” then, in May 2020, he mentioned on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk that:   “(‘Evil and Divine’) is really kind of like [L.A. Guns’ 2019 album] ‘The Devil You Know’ times three. It’s more on the heavy side of ‘The Devil You Know’ album. And Michael Sweet, he’s a really fantastic metal singer.” About ‘Light Up the Sky,’ Michael had this to say: “I’m always humbled to be a part of a project like this. This album takes the SUNBOMB vision to another level with killer songs and amazing energy. Tracii really delivered on the riffs and it made it very easy for me to come up with melodies that were fitting for each song. It’s different yet familiar at the same time in the best of ways. We’re very fortunate to be working with a label that still believes in the best music in the world – rock!”

Order ‘Light Up the Sky’ HERE

https://www.facebook.com/SunbombMetal

Sweden’s heavy rockers GREENLEAF will release their 9th studio album in a few weeks (June 21). Well influenced by ’70s hard rockers, Greenleaf’s latest is well worth checking out, full of big dark riffs, doomy rockers, and solid heavy production. Favorites include “Breathe, Breathe Out”, “Oh Dandelion”, the 8 + minute “The Tricking Tree”, and the new single “Different Horses”. Check out the band bio/press info below, as well as the 3 videos from The Head & The Habit, and links!

With their ninth full-length “The Head & The Habit”, Swedish heavy rockers GREENLEAF have reached the pinnacle of a long evolution. The musical handwriting and well-honed mastery of guitarist Tommi Holappa, who has been a pioneer and pillar of the European stoner rock scene for more than 25 years, shines clearly through. This is perfectly complemented by the soulfulness, intuitive sense of melody, and depth of character that the vocals of classically-trained singer Arvid Hällagård bring to the sound of GREENLEAF.Apart from world-class vocal lines and massive riffs with electric fuzz-power,

GREENLEAF have put extra thought into the themes of “The Head & The Habit”, which lift its lyrics far above much of the often-cliché-ridden genre. As the album title implies, the new songs resemble symbolic short stories that revolve around emotional struggles and even mental illness. Written by the vocalist, the lyrics reflect real life experience as Hällagård works with people who suffer from problems with drug abuse and psychological health. Heavy rock afficionados

GREENLEAF were initially formed as an informal project by friends that were already playing in other bands including such notable names as DOZER, LOWRIDER, and DEMON CLEANER. The Swedes simply wanted an outlet for their mutual love of ’70s-era hard rock and proto-metal while being free from the expectations and pressures of their main bands.

Despite intentions to keep GREENLEAF purely for pleasure, the undiluted joy of creating catchy songs led to everyone demanding for that material to be recorded. This eventually resulted in the release of a self-titled debut EP in 2000, which was quickly followed by first full-length “Revolution Rock” only a year later. With guitarist and founder Tommi Holappa firmly at the helm, the sound of GREENLEAF remained remarkably consistent throughout the years and releases that followed, even through a variety of personnel changes. Inspired by growing popularity and the success of “Secret Alphabets” (2003) and “Agents of Ahriman” (2007), they began to shift gears in 2010, moving from “the side project that refused to die” toward something closer to a band with the release of fourth album, 2012’s “Nest of Vipers”. Having turned from an on and off fling to a full-time love affair, the years of rotating line-ups ended and GREENLEAF’s newfound focus and stability was crowned by their fifth album “Trails & Passes” (2014), which featured new permanent vocalist Arvid Hällagård. This milestone also marked the beginning of a new phase of the band. Their next two full-lengths, 2016’s “Rise Above the Meadow” and 2018’s “Hear the Rivers”, won the band prime performing slots on European festival stages, while “Echoes from a Mass” (2021) reached the global streaming and European album charts – reflecting the quartet’s ever-growing popularity.

Weaving together psychedelia, hard rock, and metallic blues in a warm, serpentine mélange that leaves behind none of the punishing immediacy of their earlier recordings, today’s GREENLEAF merge road-tested tightness, swirling guitar-driven soundscapes, and captivating blues-laden vocals into one of the most reliably mesmerizing acts pushing the sonic horizons of desert rock to new frontiers.

With “The Head & The Habit”, GREENLEAF combine an awareness of past triumphs with mature craftsmanship, showcasing their confidence in how to rock stronger, harder, and more to the point than ever before. The Swedes melt thunderous riff-magic, enrapturing and soul-heavy vocals, frenetic rhythms and driving attacks into an ear-catching, sparkling alloy of hard rocking anthems!

Tracklist: 1.Breathe, Breathe Out 2. Avalanche 3. Different Horses 4. A Wolfe in My Mind 5. That Obsidian Grin 6. The Sirens Sound 7. Oh Dandelion 8. The Tricking Tree 9. An Alabastrine Smile

Line-up: Arvid Hällagård – vocals, Tommi Holappa – guitars, Sebastian Olsson – drums, Hans Fröhlich – bass. Recording with Karl Daniel Lidén at Studio Gröndahl, Stockholm (SE)Additional vocals recorded by Arvid Hällagård at Studio Baking Cabin. Mix by Karl Daniel Lidén in Tri-lamb Studios, Stockholm (SE), Mastering by Karl Daniel Lidén in Tri-lamb Studios, Stockholm (SE) *Artwork by Arvid Hällagård, Layout by Arvid Hällagård & Lili Krischke

Shop: http://lnk.spkr.media/greenleaf-head-habit *The Head & The Habit is available as a 48-page CD artbook, a digi-sleeve CD, and as a transparent red vinyl LP, an opaque cream white vinyl LP, and a marbled black, white & transparent green vinyl LP.

LINKS:

http://lnk.spkr.media/greenleaf-head-habit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLfd1BYRwSo

Israeli guitarist/songwriter Avi Rosenfield’s latest album (released last month), features American singer John E Mendell. From South Jersey, Mendell’s own music is described as having “no genre limits, playing from classic rock, to blues, to country, reggae and more!” And much of that describes this album Instead Of Worrying. It is nice departure from Rosenfield’s more usual style that’s heavily influenced by the likes of Deep Purple, Rainbow, Uriah Heep, and other classic ’70s hard rock acts. this is more laid back in places featuring acoustic guitars, organ, congas, Wurli keyboards….all making a good listening set of 10 tracks of roots-rock, blues, country, …. Best pics include opener “I Could Be Wrong”, “Tell Me”, and “Lately”…. plenty of ballads here. Guests include British keyboard/Hammond player Nick Foley, Wurli player Gabro Jazz, bass players Daniel Swain and Chris Branch, and Tyler Chen on congas, among a number of musicians here.

*Below Avi Rosenfield talks about the direction of this new album, and working with John E. Mendel. John also gives a bit of his story and about making this album with Avi. Check out the links at the end.

Check out Instead Of Worrying here: https://avirosenfeld.bandcamp.com/album/instead-of-worrying?from=fanpub_fnb

Avi Rosenfield – “The album with John is very special because of the John’s singing, I love his powerful dramatic voice and it surely fits the character for the songs, which are more acoustic driven classic rock, more of a personal album. Inspiration I guess is from all the singer-songwriters of the 70’s, and among them Ken Hensley of course, with his special storytelling style. I tried to follow this path and suggested John these songs.”

John E Mendel – “Making this particular record was VERY fun. Avi had reached out to me after coming across my YouTube channel. We emailed back and forth a bit and he would send me demos of his songs and together we chose which ones I was going to sing for the album. I would record my parts over his demo recordings and he would send me notes or give me a thumbs up. At this time I was in between homes and I was using a friends spare bedroom as my makeshift studio for all of my projects. It took a while to complete since I was only able to get to the studio a few times a week and I had vocal surgery in the beginning of 2023 so I had a month or 2 of vocal rest. As far as my other works (I’ll send links too), I have my YouTube which I post here and there covers and some originals. I have my cover band JEM & The Vibe. We do bars, weddings, private events etc. And I have my original works out under John E. Mendell. A lot of which lean more toward country. I am working on a new album that’s about half way done. I’m an executive producer for a musical group called “Melladys” which has two albums out and we’re currently working on a third. I also record, mix and produce for various bands and artists.”

LINKS:

www.facebook.com/AviRosenfeldBand

avirosenfeld.wix.com/avirosenfeldband

www.youtube.com/user/AviRosnfeld

https://m.facebook.com/jemandthevibe

http://www.melladys.com

Muted Conversations by John E. Mendell https://music.apple.com/us/album/muted-conversations/1572774544